Portable fireplace



April 5, 1932. a F. ELBERT 1,852,404

PORTABLE FIREPLACE Filed April 21, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 5, 1932.B- ELBERT 1,852,404

PORTABLE FIREPLACE Filed April 21, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a t x 7 Ag Zw Ia w '0 31/ 2 5a fawn/0r fiFfi/eri Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNITED STATESBENJAMIN F. ELBERT, OI DES MOINES, IOWA PORTABLE FIREPLACE Applicationfiled April 21,

The object of my invention is to provide a portable fireplace of simple,durable and inexpensive construction, and so arranged that it can bemanufactured in sections and shipped in the fiat, and readily, quicklyand easily assembled by unskilled workmen, and when assembled will berigid and durable and bodily portable.

More specifically it is my object to provide a fireplace of this classin which the parts to which the greatest amount of heat is applied arereadily and easily removable and replace able.

A further object is to provide a fireplace of (this character in whicheach unit which is subjected to intense heat is made up of sheet metaland angle bar braces spot welded or otherwise secured thereto, thebraces being so shaped and arranged that they will per-. form theadditional function of assembling units for connecting the partstogether, an which are so arranged relative to the sheet metal that whenthe inevitable expansion and sagging of the sheet metal takes placeunder intense heat, the combined actlon of the braces and sheet metalwill upon cooling restore the sheet metal to its original condition. Afurther object is to provide a fireplace of this character in which theinevitable expansion and contraction of the parts to which intense heatis subjected will, during contraction and expansion, not in any wayinterfere with or distort the main frame member.

A further object is to provide an improved combined hearth and ash panso arranged that it will perform the usual functions ofa hearth and atthe same time serve as a detachablc ash pan into which the ashes withinthe fireplace may be readily and easily scraped into the hearth, andthen the hearth bodily removed for dumping the ashes.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated areattained, as hereinafter more 1930. Serial N0. 445,955.

fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation of a fireplace embodying my invention.

Figure 2 shows a horizontal sectional view looking down taken on theline 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a detail inverted plan view of a portion of a hearth andash pan and the adjacent portion of the fireplace.

Figure 4 shows a vertical central sectional view taken on the line 44 ofFigure 1.

Figure 5 shows a detail sectional View through the front portion of thefireplace 0 illustrating the detachable sheet metal front. The dottedlines show this front tilted outwardly for the purpose of removal.

Figure 6 shows a detail sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure4; and

Figure 7 shows a detail horizontal sectional view on the line 7--7 ofFigure 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that my improvedfireplace comprises essentially a back, two sides and an open front. Theback is formed of a piece of flat sheet metal 10 with two upright anglebars 11 connected thereto, preferably by spot welding. These angle barsextend downwardly below the back to form legs, and portions of the anglebars extend forwardly beyond the sheet metal back.

At the bottom edge of the back 10 there is an angle bar 12 connected tothe back, preferably by spot welding, and having its lower portionextended forwardly to form a support for the fireplace bottom, and atthe top there is another angle bar 13 secured to the back and having itstop flange extended forwardly. 85

Each of the two sides comprises a flat sheet metal body 14 having twochannel bars 15 and 16 permanently secured thereto on the inner facethereof. These brace and support the side members against warping andalso form means by which the detachable back plate and the detachableside plates are held in position.

At the bottom of each side member 14 is an angle bar 14a with its bottomedge extendedinwardly, and at the top there is an angle bar 14?) at itstop edge extending inwardly,

Referring to Figure 7 of the drawings there is illustrated a detachableback plate 17 made of fiat sheet metal and having angle bars 18permanently fixed to it with one edge extending rearwardly and forming aspacing means for holding the detachable back plate 17 from the back lOV r The side edges of the detachable back member 17 engage the rearmember of the-channel 15, thus preventing forward movement of saiddetachable plate, and by this means it is obvious that the channel bar15 serves the double function of reinforcing the side members to whichit is attached, and supporting the detachable back plate against forwardmovement.

There are two detachable inner side plates, each of which is made of apiece of fiat sheet metal 19 having two angle bars 20 fixed to it forreinforcing; purposes. These angle bars have one member extendedoutwardly to space the side plate 19 from the side wall 14.

The forward upright member of the channel bar 15 is inclined forwardlyand the rear upright edge of the plate 19 is inclined rearwardly andoutwardly at 21 to pass under the adjacent part of the channel bar 15,thus forming a means for preventing inward movement of the plate 19, andthe front edge of the plate 19 is inserted in the channel bar 16, sothat it is firmly and immovably held in position and yet readilydetached by drawing it upwardly.

The sides of the fireplace are connected at the front by a transversemetal strip 22 having fixed to its top an angle bar 23 and having fixedto its bottom an angle bar 24, and fixed to the front edge of the anglebar 24 are two upright arms 25 to receive the detachable front panel aswill be hereinafter explained. These angle bars 23 and 24 are firmlysecured by screws or the like to the lower front portion of thefireplace side walls, thus firmly bracing and supporting them at thebottom.

A similar strip 26 is providedat the top and it also is bolted to thetop front edges of the side walls. It is provided near its lower 7portion with pins 27. These pins are for the purpose of supporting adetachable fireplace front member 26 which is formed of a single sheetof metal and is provided with slots 29 to receive the pins 27 as shownin Figure 5,

and the bottom rests between the angle bar 23 and the arms 25, as shownin Figure 5. Ordinarily the-fireplace is used without thisdetachablefront member, but when it is applied, it is obvious that itwill completely enclose the fireplace.

The fireplace bottom is formed of a single sheet of flat metal 30 havingacross the central portion of its top an angle bar 31 and across thecentral portion of its under side an angle bar 32 arranged at rightangles to each other. The bottom is of such size that it will fit withinand rest upon the angle bar 12 at the back and the angle bars 14a at thesides, and the angle bar 24 at the front.

The fireplace'top is formed of a single flat sheet 33 having its marginsinclined downwardly at 34 and having a stove pipe collar 35 near itsrear side. On the under side of this top member there is a centraltransverse angle 37 running from side to side.

The fireplace health is formed of sheet metal and comprises abottom 38,an upturned front 39 and upturned ends 40. On its under side it isprovided with two lengthwise angle bars 41 firmly secured to it by spotwelding or the like, andhaving their end portions extended downwardly toform the legs 42. The inner edge of the hearth member projects aconsiderable distance under the front of the stove and between the stovelegs, so that these stove legs at the front prevent all movement of thehearth member, except a movement straight outwardly.

The deflector plate for directing the products of combustion upwardlyand forwardly within the fireplace is formed of a piece of flat metal 43having angle bars 44 on its under side and an angle bar 45 at its top,and this rests upon and is supported by the top edges of side plates 19and needs no other support.

In practice it is obvious that all of the various parts of the devicecan be manufac: tured quickly and cheaply and are relatively fiat andwill not need crating in shipment. The fireplace may be readily andeasily assembled' by unskilled workmen by first setting up the backmember 10. Then the side members 14 are attached by screws or the likepassing through the angle bars 11 and the rear edges of the sides 14.Then the two front members 22 and 26 may be placed in position andsecured by screws to the front edges of the side members. Then thebottom member 14a is simply placed in position and does not need anyfastening means. Then the rear inner wall 17 is slipped into positionfrom above and needs no fastening means. Then the detachable side plates19 areslipped into position from above and need no fastening. Then thedeflector plate 43is placed in position and needs no fastener. Andfinally the top member is placed in position and fastened with screwsinto the angle bars at the top of the fireplace. The hearth is simplyslipped into position between front le s of the fire place and needs nofastening.

efore a fire is made in the fireplace the bottom is covered with a layeror ashes, sand or the like, and when a very hot fire is made, the partssubjected to the most intense heat will expand and tend to warp orbulge. However, these parts are the detachable plates 17 and 19 and thetop plate 43, all of which are loosely mounted and the expansion orcontraction of these parts will not produce any strains upon the mainframe of the fireplace.

I have discovered by actual practice that when these parts have thusexpanded and bulged, then when the fireplace again cools off thecontraction of the sheet metal and angle bars will again straighten outthe sheet metal and return the parts to their approximately normalcondition.

In the event, however, that intense heat is applied for too great alength of time, one of these sheet metal parts may burn out, but in thatevent a new one can be provided and very quickly and easily put in placeby an unskilled operator.

My improved hearth member is so arranged that surplus ashes from theinterior of the fireplace may be scraped out on to it until it iscompletely filled. Then the operator may remove them by sliding thehearth straight forwardly until it is clear of the stove leg, and thenit may be carried to a point of discharge and readily and easilyreplaced in position. In practice I have found that it is neverdisplaced by accidental means, because nearly all of the blows to whichit is subjected tend to push it in under the stove or laterally, and itis only removable When a straight forward pull is applied to it.

In the drawings I have illustrated the main parts of my improvedfireplace as made of sheet metal, and in the drawings and claims I havedescribed these parts as sheet metal members. I do not desire, however,to be understood as limiting my claims to the use of sheet metal, butintend them to be construed as covering mechanical equivalents thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a portable fireplace, the combination of a sheet metal backportion, angle bars firm- 1y fixed to the side edges thereof and havingportions extending forwardly therefrom, said angle bars being projectedbelow the back to form' legs, sheet metal side portions having theirrear edges detachably connected to the forwardly extending parts of saidangle bars and being provided with reinforcing bars on their innersurfaces near their rear edges, and an inner back member formed of sheetmetal reinforced by angle bars firm- 1y secured thereto and extendedrearwardly to space it from the rear wall and having its side edgesengaging the said bars 011 the inner surfaces of the side walls toprevent its forward movement.

2. In a portable fireplace, the combination of a sheet metal backportion, angle bars firmly fixed to the side edges thereof and havingportions extending forwardly therefrom, said angle bars being projectedbelow the back to form legs, sheet metal side portions having their rearedges detachably connected to the forwardly extending parts of saidanglebars and being provided withreinforcingbars on their inner surfacesnear their rear edges, an inner back member formed of sheet metalreinforced by angle bars firmly secured thereto and extendedrearwardlyto space it from the rear wall and having its side edgesengaging the said bars on the inner surfaces of the side walls toprevent its forward movement, a second reinforcing bar fixed to the sidewall at a point in front of the first mentioned bar, and an inner wallhaving fixed thereto angle bars to space it from the side wall, thefront and rear edges of said inner wall being detachably fitted intosaid reinforcing bars on the side wall, whereby they may be removed byan upward movement.

3. In a portable fireplace, the combination of a sheet metal backportion, angle bars firmly fixed to the side edges thereof and havingportions extending forwardly therefrom, said angle bars being projectedbelow the back to form legs, sheet metal side portions having their rearedges detachably connected to the forwardly extending parts of saidangle bars and being provided with reinforcing bars on their innersurfaces near their rear edges, an inner back member formed of sheetmetal reinforced by angle bars firmly secured thereto and extendedrearwardly to space it from the rear wall and having its side edgesengaging the bars on the inner surfaces of the side walls to prevent itsforward movement, angle bars fixed to the front edges of the side wallsand projected below side walls to form legs, cross strips at the upperand lower portions of the front secured to said angle bars at the frontedges of said walls, and a flat sheet metal top having reinforcing barson its under surface secured to the top of the fireplace.

4. In a portable fireplace, the combination of a sheet metal backportion, angle bars firmly fixed to the side edges thereof and havingportions extending forwardly therefrom, said angle bars being projectedbelow the back to form legs, sheet metal side portions having their rearedges detachably connected to the forwardly extending parts of saidangle bars and being provided with reinforcing bars on their innersurfaces near their rear edges, an inner back member formed of sheetmetal reinforced by angle bars firmly secured thereto and extendedrearwardly to space it from the rear wall and having its side edgesengaging the said bars on the inner surfaces of the side walls toprevent its forward movement, a second reinforcing bar fixed to the sidewall at a point in front of the first mentioned bar, an inner wallhaving fixed there to angle bars to space it from the side wall,

thefront' and rear edges of said inner wall being detachably fitted intosaid reinforcing bars on the side wall, whereby they may be removedby anupward movement, the upper edgesof said inner side walls being inclinedupwardly and forwardly, and a deflector plate formed of flat sheet metalwith reinforcing bars firmly fixed to its under and lower surface,detaehably supported on thetop 1 edges of said inner side plates;

Des Moine's, Iowa, March 27,1930.

BENJAMIN F. ELBERT.

